Shock and thaw: Syria’s frozen war resumes

2024-12-04

Are young people today stuck in their teenage years? In a book published in 2024, one author argues that they are. Is he right?

Is Western culture stopping people from growing up?: https://econ.st/4fVw8Q1
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2024-11-25

Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—Subscribe to Economist Podcasts+ (https://subscribenow.economist.com/podcasts-plus)

2024-11-20

Donald Trump tore up America’s nuclear deal with Iran (https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2024/11/19/get-ready-for-maximum-pressure-20-on-iran?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners) in his first term. What will he do when he becomes president again? The pushy tactics China’s government uses to press women to have more children (10:24). And the sneaker wars (https://www.economist.com/business/2024/11/14/nike-and-adidas-are-losing-their-lead-in-running-shoes?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners) get more competitive (18:06).

2024-10-07

*This episode was first published 20/07/24

After a year of war in Gaza, people are beginning to discuss the aftermath. Schools, hospitals, the sanitation system are in ruins. Just clearing the rubble will take years.

Focusing on the long term, many neglect what needs to happen on day one. Gazans say the territory is becoming lawless. Who will control security, and with what legitimacy? Does anyone have a coherent plan?

In this special episode of The Weekend Intelligence The Economist’s editor-in-chief Zanny Minton Beddoes considers the dangerously rosy thinking about Gaza’s future and asks what happens when the dust settles.

Music credit: Epidemic Sound and Blue Dot Sessions

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2024-09-27

Ukraine’s president is again on American shores, trying to secure support of all kinds. He needs it (https://www.economist.com/briefing/2024/09/26/ukraine-is-on-the-defensive-militarily-economically-and-diplomatically?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners)—diplomatically, militarily and politically. America’s tendencies toward “woke” discourse and policies have permeated its politics, but our analysis finds that “peak woke” is already in the past

2024-09-23

Artificial Intelligence has gained ground so fast that OpenAI, the firm powering ChatGPT, is changing Silicon Valley’s investment model (https://www.economist.com/leaders/2024/09/19/the-breakthrough-ai-needs?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners) and how it innovates. Why the global nuclear order (https://www.economist.com/leaders/2024/08/15/reluctantly-america-will-have-to-build-more-nuclear-weapons?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners) may be in peril (10:24). And an alternative type of electoral forecasting is gaining ground: political

2024-07-30

The dearth of fixed-line infrastructure that allowed the continent to leapfrog into the mobile-phone age now holds it back. We ask how to ensure (https://www.economist.com/leaders/2024/07/25/how-to-ensure-africa-is-not-left-behind-by-the-ai-revolution?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners) the even spread of AI’s dividends. A stinking Seine (https://www.economist.com/culture/2024/07/25/the-seine-may-determine-athletes-success-at-the-paris-olympics?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners) has delayed the Olympic triathlon, but the river could one

2024-07-16

After decades of torpor, is Japan recovering its dynamism (https://www.economist.com/asia/2024/07/01/japans-mind-bending-bento-box-economics?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners)? Our correspondent turns to an ancient bento box merchant to test Japan’s economic future. A new study shows how few therapies tested on animals (https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2024/06/14/only-5-of-therapies-tested-on-animals-are-approved-for-human-use?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners) end up being applied to humans (10:02). And if you don’t